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Paul Schmidt
Director of Services Strategy & HubSpot Certified Trainer at SmartBug Media | Building the Roadmap for HubSpot's #1 Partner Agency
Paul Schmidt is a seasoned marketing professional with extensive experience in B2B marketing and sales enablement. He currently serves as the Director of Services Strategy at SmartBug Media, a full-service digital agency based in the Greater Denver Area.1
Professional Experience
Paul has over 10 years of experience in both in-house and agency marketing roles. His career highlights include:
SmartBug Media:
- Joined in February 2015 as a Strategist & Consulting Team Lead
- Worked for 5 years and 2 months, overseeing a team of consultants, designers, developers, and content creators
- Focused on helping clients grow revenue through lead generation, marketing automation, inbound and paid media campaigns
- Developed the agency's first paid search processes, improving team efficiency and client performance
- Oversaw $90,000 in monthly recurring revenue across multiple accounts1
HubSpot:
- Worked as a Senior Inbound Marketing Consultant from May 2013 to February 2015
- Designed and implemented inbound marketing strategies for new customers
- Developed internal training classes on search marketing, social media, and analytics
- Created SEO webinars and spoke at conferences and universities1
Additional Roles and Contributions
- VIP Contributing Writer for Search Engine Journal since January 2019
- Member of Pavilion, a community for sales, marketing, and RevOps leaders
- Percussionist and Marketer for the Littleton Symphony since August 2017
- Previously worked as a Marketing Coordinator for Sabian Ltd and as a Search Marketing Specialist for UpWord Search Marketing1
Expertise and Skills
Paul is known for his expertise in:
- B2B marketing and sales enablement
- Content marketing and paid media programs
- Lead generation and marketing automation
- Inbound and paid media campaigns
- Search marketing and social media strategies
His LinkedIn posts demonstrate his ongoing engagement with industry trends, including discussions on HubSpot's features, customer support data, and agency-client relationships.234
Highlights
Who should own the responsibility of growing revenue from existing customers? 🤔
Should it be the CSM, AE or a combined role?
On Mark Roberge's Science of Scaling podcast, he breaks down the pros and cons of specialization (CSM and AE as separate roles) versus a combined role (AE handles both the initial sale and customer growth).
Here’s a quick summary:
Advantages of Specialization: 🏹 Sales can focus purely on closing new deals. 🤝 Customer success can prioritize long-term value and relationships. 🚀 Specialized roles lead to efficiency and maximize each team’s strengths.
Disadvantages of Specialization: 🤔 Handoffs between teams can cause misalignment, like missed expectations or awkward transitions. 📉 Each team might optimize for their own metrics, which doesn’t always support long-term customer growth (LTV).
When does specialization make sense? Consider these factors: 1️⃣ First Sale Value: If most of the revenue comes from the initial sale, specialization is usually the better choice.
2️⃣ Expansion Potential: If revenue grows significantly after the first deal, keeping the original salesperson involved might be more effective.
3️⃣ Complexity of Expansion: If upselling involves complex sales cycles, having the original sales team can ensure better understanding and alignment.
I'm curious to any revenue or sales leaders in my network that have shifted from one model to the other. Would love to hear you what you learned along the way.
My #Inbound24 Packing List:
Comfortable shoes (and bandaids in case of blisters) - Biggest rookie mistake is that people try to wear very fancy uncomfortable shoes. Plan for 10k steps per day.
A cozy sweatshirt: The breakout session and main stage rooms are kept at 2-3 degrees cooler than what you’re used to.
Liquid IV: Whether you drink or not, this stuff is a pick-me-up in the AM or post-lunch.
Advil: By day 2, you’re starting to get fatigued from the 10k steps you took the day before and the 10k more you’re going to take today.
Gum/mints: In the sessions, you’re literally rubbing shoulders with the person next to you.
Healthy snacks to keep you fueled between sessions (or if you miss lunch). I always throw in a few cliff bars in my bag.
Extra charger block: Ideally you’re not glued to your phone/laptop but it’s nice to avoid having to park by a random wall because you’re out of juice.
Hand sanitizer: There’s a lot of handshakes and fistbumps happening (esp. if you run into Dan Tyre).
Sunglasses: You’ll probably be able to snag one of these from a vendor but I like having these when heading out to the lawn or to happy hour.
Business Cards: You won’t need a ton of these as the Inbound name tag provides this functionality of swapping contact info but I take a small handful with me.
Anything else you’d add to this list for first-time goers of Inbound?
#INBOUNDCorrespondent2024 #INBOUND24
